


Faith, Trust, and a Meddling Baelfire

by rumpelstarkskin



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-11 05:48:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4423733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rumpelstarkskin/pseuds/rumpelstarkskin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle doesn't expect the Dark One to have a son, and she certainly doesn't expect the awkwardness that comes from trying to find her place in their domain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faith, Trust, and a Meddling Baelfire

**Author's Note:**

> A RCIJ fic for sarashouldbestudying! The prompt I received was: awkward family dinner, Dark Castle. I hope I did it justice.

Belle honestly had no idea what she expected upon moving to the Dark Castle with Rumplestiltskin, but the odd domesticity of living with the Dark One and his son was not even remotely on her list, especially since no one else in the entire Enchanted Forest was even aware the Dark One had a son. 

Belle supposed the surreal feeling had started when she had stepped forward and accepted the deal to exchange her freedom for the safety of her family and all of the people in Avonlea. She had only wanted to make sure her friends and family didn’t suffer any further due to the ogres’ wrath, and to be brave like her dear mother. As she was magically whisked away to her new home, never to see her family again, Belle was no longer as sure of her decision as she had been just moments before. When the purple smoke cleared and Belle got her first glimpse of her new home, the surreal feeling only got worse, but when she was pulled down a flight of stairs off to the far side of the foyer a feeling of dread started to pool in her belly, making her nervous for whatever was down there. Having heard the horrible tales of what the Dark One was capable of for the past couple years, Belle began to tremble.

“Wh-where are you taking me?” Belle asked, cursing the slight shakiness of her voice and praying Rumplestiltskin hadn’t heard it.

The Dark One let out a high-pitched giggle. “Let’s call it… your room.”

“My room?” Belle echoed, wondering what sort of room could possibly be down here. She soon found out when a small cell became visible and Rumplestiltskin giggled again.

“Well it sounds a lot nicer than ‘dungeon’, doesn’t it?” With that, Rumplestiltskin pulled Belle forward before shoving her into the cell and slamming and locking the door.

Belle pulled herself up from the floor and glared at the man- or whatever he was- who grinned at her through the bars. “So you’re just going to leave me here forever, then?”

“Goodness no, you shall join me for supper every night, and your days will be spent doing whatever I tell you to. You’ll only be locked in here every single night for the rest of your life. Better get comfortable, dearie! Nyuh!” And with that he was gone.

Belle sighed and sat down on the hard slab that would serve as her bed. Luckily there was at least a blanket even it was rather thin. Belle spent the next several hours wondering what her father was up to now that the ogres were gone. Would they start rebuilding right away or would there be a massive celebration tonight? Or a worse thought, would they be mourning the loss of their princess who gave her freedom for their lives?

After what seemed like days to Belle but were only mere hours, the lock on the door of her ‘room’ clicked and the door swung open. Belle assumed that meant it was time to join her- captor? master? - for dinner. When she was back in the foyer, Belle found Rumplestiltskin waiting for her off to the side where she assumed the dining hall was located. Upon entering this new area of the large castle, Belle’s eyes were immediately drawn to the large fireplace set off to one side with a spinning wheel next to it. Belle had never seen a spinning wheel up close, and as she took several steps deeper into the room, she realized with a start that on one side was a basket of straw, but the other side had spools of gold! So those rumours are true, Belle thought. He can spin straw into gold. Belle was pulled out of her musings when a voice that was not Rumplestiltskin’s could be heard from across the room.

“It’s about time, Papa, I’m starving!” Belle whipped around to see a large dining table set with a large feast. Her eyes, however, moved to the small figure already seated at the table with his plate already full of scrumptious food. He was still fairly young, maybe thirteen or fourteen with curly brown hair and brown eyes. Belle noted the fact that the boy called Rumplestiltskin ‘Papa’, but this boy was so… normal when compared to the reptilian appearance of the Dark One.

Once Belle had finished processing that there was a teenage boy clearly under the care of the Dark One, Belle turned to Rumplestiltskin. “So you do kidnap children!” 

To Belle’s surprise, however, the boy burst out laughing before Rumplestiltskin could reply to her.

“What? He didn’t kidnap me! I’m his son from before he-“ the boy cut himself off when Rumplestiltskin sent him a warning glance.

“Bae, enough. This is Belle, she’ll be living here now and she’ll be in charge of the chores as well as teaching you what you would have been learning in school.” Belle hid her surprise that she was to be this boy’s teacher in addition to caretaker of the castle, and sent the boy a small smile when he said, “Nice to meet you, Belle.”

Rumplestiltskin then turned back to her. “Belle, this is my son Baelfire, or Bae for short. Now, we’d better start eating before my son decides he’s going to starve to death.”

Belle carefully picked at the food on her plate, the feeling of surrealism overcoming her and causing her appetite to be lost in her swirling emotions. The Dark One has a son was the thought that just kept repeating in her mind. As she glanced at the other two occupants at the table, she couldn’t help but smile as Rumplestiltskin listened to his son with rapt attention as the boy told him about his day. She even giggled slightly as Baelfire- Bae, she thought to herself- shifted in his seat and started complaining about how hard and uncomfortable the chairs were. Judging by the long sigh Rumplestiltskin let out, this wasn’t the first time he was hearing these particular complaints. Without thinking, she spoke up.

“Well they’re a lot comfier than the cot in the dungeon.” She only looked up when there was a loud clatter and she saw that Bae had dropped his fork in shock before rounding on his father.

“You locked her in the dungeon?!”

Belle had to hold back her laughter at how uncomfortable the Dark One looked in this moment.

“Well, yes son. She’s not a guest here, she’s to be the caretaker of this estate and your tutor.”

“So she’s gonna be here for a super long time and you’re just gonna make her live in the DUNGEON? Papa, you can’t!”

“Yes, Bae, I can. All magic comes with a price, son, you know that. The price of saving Belle’s kingdom from the ogres is that she remains here. It’s meant to be a price, Bae, not a reward, so she will stay in the dungeon and that is that. Is that understood?”

Both Belle and Bae looked down at their plates, bur from the corner of her eye Belle watched as Bae nodded, frowning at his roast and potatoes. Belle was even more uncomfortable than before, the tension filling the room becoming stifling. The awkward silence finally became too much, but she wasn’t the one who broke it.

Bae mumbled it, but due to the silence both Belle and Rumplestiltskin heard him clearly.

“You saved me from the ogres too but you didn’t lock me in the dungeon.”

Rumplestiltskin put down his fork and knife and let out a long sigh, closing his eyes briefly before opening them and staring hard at his son.

“That is completely different, Bae, and you know it. You are my son, of course I didn’t lock you in the dungeon.”

“Well I’m gonna sleep in the dungeon from now on until you give Belle a proper room.”  
Belle moved her eyes back and forth between the two as they faced off. It was clear both of them were stubborn, but Rumplestiltskin was not about to let his son win that easily.

“Fine, do what you want Bae, but Belle will remain in the dungeon.”

The rest of dinner was more awkward than any other meal Belle had ever sat through, and that included the dinner where she found out she was engaged to that great oaf Gaston. When they were finished eating, Rumplestiltskin waved his hand and everything was cleared from the table. He then turned to Belle.

“The kitchen is through there,” he said to her, pointing to the door behind the table. “All of the dishes will be in the tub, clean them and put them away.”

Belle normally would have argued, but she was more than happy to get away from the awkward tension surrounding father and son. As she began filling the tub with water and locating a car of soap to help her wash the many dishes, she could hear an argument spark up between the two again. Belle hummed to herself instead of trying to listen in on what they were saying, not wanting to get involved in family matters her first night here. When Belle was finally finished, she exited the kitchen, going through the dining room to the foyer, intending to make her way back down to her cold cell for the night. She nearly jumped however when she noticed  
Rumplestiltskin waiting for her by the main staircase.

“This way, dearie,” he said, moving up the first few stairs. Belle, however, stayed where she was.

“Where are you taking me,” she questioned suspiciously.

Rumplestiltskin paused with a sour look on his face until he finally replied. “Your actual room,” he muttered, as if it caused him great pain.

“What?”

“It seems my son brought up some good points. You won’t be able to clean the castle very well if you have a sore back from the dungeon. Now come on, before I change my mind.”

Belle hurried to follow him up the stairs and when she looked up to see how far the stairs really went, she caught the bright eyes of Rumplestiltskin’s son where he was hiding on the floor above them. He flashed her a grin and a thumbs up before scurrying off to where his room must be located. Belle couldn’t help but smile. No, this domesticity was not what she expected, but she wasn’t about to complain just yet.

***

Belle sighed, wishing the floor would just swallow her up. She was such an idiot! Only her first full day on the job and she had already messed up. The worst part was that she should have known better.

That morning, she had been woken up by a knock on her bedroom door and she had opened it up to see Bae standing there grinning.

“Morning, Belle! Did you sleep well? Papa sent me up here, he wants you to serve him tea and then he’ll tell you what you’re gonna be doing around the castle, and then you have to come find me in the library so that we can start lessons! Okay, well I gotta go, I’m s’posed to go pick out some books. See you soon!” Bae ran off down the hall before giving Belle a chance to even say ‘good morning’, and she smiled fondly at the retreating figure before picking out a dress from the wardrobe and pulling it on, pinning back her hair, and making her way down to the dining area and kitchen.

Belle quickly located the kettle and the blue and white tea set along with the modest collection of tea leaves in one of the cupboards. Quickly brewing the tea and grabbing some milk and sugar, she made her way out to where Rumplestiltskin was clearly waiting for her. While she started to pour the tea, he began listing her duties such as dusting, sweeping and mopping, fetching him straw when he needed it, and of course teaching Bae. Belle made noises of agreement after everything he listed. She was just about to pass him the teacup when he added, “Oh, and you will skin the children I hunt for their pelts.”

Belle, who hadn’t expected him to say something like that, let out a gasp and promptly dropped the cup of tea she was holding. Belle thought he would turn her into a slug for that, but he merely said, “That was a quip, dearie. Not serious.”

Belle picked up the cup and to her horror, not only had all of the tea spilled, but there was also a small chip in the edge of the cup. Belle thought she could literally feel her heart dropping to her toes.

“I- I’m sorry, but it’s chipped. You can hardly see it…” Belle said, praying he wouldn’t do anything to horrible.

He simply looked at her. “It’s just a cup.”

Belle had gone through her chores for the day and Bae’s lessons without further incident, but now, as she reorganized her meager belongings in her room while she waited to be summoned for dinner, her embarrassment came back tenfold. She just couldn’t believe that she had fallen for his trick. Being a father to a fourteen year old, she knew that he would never hunt children.

Belle looked up as her door swung open, revealing no one, and she headed downstairs for dinner, vowing that tonight would be more comfortable than the last. That lasted for all of twenty minutes, however. Baelfire had been catching his father up on the reading and writing lessons that he and Belle had gone over that afternoon when he suddenly stopped mid sentence. Both Belle and Rumplestiltskin stopped eating and turned to him curiously.

“Papa, why are you drinking tea from a broken cup?”

So much for not being an awkward evening. She turned and stared at Rumplestiltskin, trying not too appear too eager for his answer. She noticed that the Dark One’s gold/green skin was taking on a rather pink shade.

“It’s not broken, Bae, it’s just chipped. And- uh-“ he glanced at Belle, “it was the first one I grabbed from the cupboard?”

“Are you sure, Papa? Because that didn’t sound too convincing.” Bae was grinning from ear to ear and glancing slyly between his father and Belle.

“Of course I’m sure, Bae, now finish your dinner before it gets cold.”

Belle couldn’t help but notice, however, that whenever Belle served him tea, whether it was in the morning or evening, he always preferred the chipped cup. Belle wasn’t sure what it meant.

***

For a few weeks, everything seemed to be going well. She and Bae were making good progress in his lessons and he was now learning things that he would normally learn a few years from now. He was an eager student and Belle knew that he was happy to have something to keep him busy. She didn’t want to think about how lonely it must have been here with only his father for company. She was even making progress with Rumplestiltskin. She was able to get all of the chores done in a timely manner and today she decided that while the castle was named Dark, it didn’t mean light couldn’t be let in. So here she was, on a ladder, struggling to tug down the heavy curtains covering the windows. Rumplestiltskin was at his wheel, absentmindedly spinning straw to gold. When she asked him why he spun so much he simply said it was to forget. When questioned about what he wanted to forget, he stopped for a minute and replied, “I guess it worked.”

The two of them shared a laugh, but Belle couldn’t help but feel sad that he clearly didn’t trust her enough to confide in her. Belle just sighed and continued tugging on the curtains, finally gaining the attention of the Dark One, who then came over to see what on earth she was trying to accomplish.

She was shocked when he revealed that he had nailed down the curtains. Shocked enough that when she tugged a final time, her reflexes weren’t quick enough for her to catch herself and she felt herself falling. She braced herself for a painful impact with the floor and was therefore quite surprised to land in a strong pair of arms instead. As they gazed at each other before Rumplestiltskin gently lowered her back to the floor, Belle could only think so much for having a normal dinner tonight.  
Fortunately, Bae didn’t even try to get to the bottom of what had Belle and Rumplestiltskin avoiding each other’s eyes. Even still, Belle was happy when the meal was over and she did the dishes quickly and efficiently, wondering all the while about the spark of emotion she had while gazing into her employer’s eyes.

***

A few months had now passed since her arrival to the Dark Castle, and whatever had passed between Belle and Rumplestiltskin was left unresolved. There was no tension between them, however, at least not enough to really notice at all times. There were awkward silences and soft moments between them where it became stronger but Belle did her best not to let Bae notice.

Today she was just making small talk while sweeping up the excess straw around the spinning wheel when there was a knock on the door. Rumplestiltskin moved to answer it and Belle followed, curious. She was too late however, as Rumplestiltskin was already closing the door when she made her way into the entrance hall, holding a single red rose.

“Who was that?” she asked.

“Just an old woman selling flowers.” Rumplestiltskin held the rose out to her. “Here, if you’ll have it.”

Belle took the rose with a curtsy and said, “Why thank you,” and giggling softly as Rumplestiltskin gave her a flourishing bow in return. She trimmed the stem of the rose and placed it in water before moving it to the dining table. She had forgotten all about it until she was wiping down the table shortly before dinner and Bae came into the room, probably looking for a small snack. He gave her a wave and moved to go into the kitchen when he caught sight of the rose and frowned.

Belle heard him mutter, “He said he wouldn’t do that anymore,” and she turned to him curiously.

“Do what, Bae?”

Bae suddenly looked very uncomfortable and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Belle just stared him down while waiting for an answer.

“He said he wouldn’t turn people into things anymore.”

Belle stood very still for a solid ten seconds before shrieking out, “WHAT!” and running out of the room.

As Rumplestiltskin admitted turning her former fiancé into a rose, Belle felt her heart pounding in her ears and thought she might faint. Rumplestiltskin came closer and moved to place a hand on her shoulder but she stepped back and finally met his eyes.

“Did I kill him,” she asked, deadly calm.

Rumplestiltskin looked confused. “What?”

“When I cut the stem, did I kill him?” Belle began to tremble and tears pooled in her blue eyes, making them brighter than usual.

Understanding dawned in Rumplestiltskin’s eyes. “No, Belle, no. He was dead as soon as I turned him into a rose. I promise you, nothing you did caused him any pain because he was already dead.” Belle nodded and took a deep breath before meeting his gaze once more.  
“I won’t be joining you for dinner tonight,” and with that she left the room.  
Rumplestiltskin and Bae didn’t speak at all during dinner that night.

***

Another few months passed with little incident and Belle eventually came to forgive Rumplestiltskin for his transgression with the rose. They were growing even closer than before, especially when he finally admitted that he only killed Gaston because he was afraid of losing her. She did not agree with his method of disposal, but she understood his past and knew that that was the only way he knew how to protect those he had come to care about.  
When Belle served Rumplestiltskin his tea, however, she knew something was wrong. She didn’t press him to open up, however, trusting that if it had to do with her, he would tell her in his own time.

That time came later that afternoon. She was moving to take his basket to fill it with more straw when he stopped her. “I’m all out of straw here. Go down to the village and get me some more.”

Belle searched his eyes for an explanation of why he would be sending her out of the castle after all this time, but his expression was unreadable.

“You- you trust me to come back?” she asked slowly.

“Oh no, dearie, I trust I’ll never see you again.”

She bit her lip, wondering why he was letting her go. It was true, she and Bae had finished their lessons a few weeks ago, Belle having taught him everything she knew. Maybe that was why. What surprised Belle though was the fact that she didn’t want to leave them. She wanted to stay with them and be a part of their little family.

“I don’t understand,” she whispered.

“Better get a move on, dearie, shops won’t be open forever.” Belle caught sight of the sad smile on his face and she sighed, fighting back tears, and grabbed the basket.

Before she left the castle, however, she turned back to Rumplestiltskin and whispered, “Tell Bae I love him.” She didn’t wait for him to reply and simply left the castle, making her way to the village.

Rumplestiltskin was sitting at his empty wheel when Bae came barreling into the room, ready for dinner.

“Papa, it’s dinner time! Where’s Belle?”

Rumplestiltskin looked at his son sadly, wondering how he was supposed to tell him that Belle had returned to her home.

“Bae- son, I-“

“Wow, the village was busy today! I wasn’t sure I would even make it back for dinner!”

Rumplestiltskin stared in shock as Belle strode into the room, arms laden with a heavy basket full of fresh straw. She gave him a soft smile, but he didn’t- couldn’t- return it. The only thought running through his mind was she came back. He had set her free but she came back.  
Throughout dinner, Rumplestiltskin could only stare at Belle as she animatedly told Bae about her adventure in the village. He continued to stare at her through dessert, and he followed her into the kitchen to stare at her in further disbelief as she started washing the dishes as usual.  
Finally he broke the silence. “You came back,” was all he said.

She turned to him. “Of course I did. You two are my family now.”

Rumplestiltskin hesitantly moved closer to her, gently brushing his hand across her cheek as if he couldn’t quite believe she was really there.  
“Why did you come back?”

Belle gave him a soft smile. “Bae isn’t the only one I love.”  
Rumplestiltskin looked like a deer caught in lamplight and he even let out a gasp. They gazed into each other’s eyes for what seemed like hours before they heard a voice in the doorway.

“Will you two just kiss already?” Bae exclaimed from where he had been hiding in the doorway.  
They smiled at Bae and then at each other before they did as he suggested.


End file.
